Revelation Space

Executive Summary: An interesting story that I found too confusing and full of unlikable characters leaving me a bit disappointed.Audio book: I like John Lee as a reader for space opera. He has a good voice for it in my opinion. I've listened to some [a:Peter F. Hamilton 25375 Peter F. Hamilton https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235123752p2/25375.jpg] he narrated as well. He does a few accents and voices, but nothing really special to add to the story and make it a must listen.That said, this isn't a book I think that works very well in Audio. There is a lot going on and I found myself a bit lost, especially with the names of characters. I wonder if I might have liked the book more if I had read it rather than reading it.Full ReviewI'm not a big sci-fi reader. More than your average person probably, but I'd guess I probably read 2 or 3 fantasy books for every sci-fi one.[b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377707689s/18007564.jpg 21825181] put me in a sci-fi mood though, and I wanted some fun space opera to scratch the itch. After reading [a:Peter F. Hamilton 25375 Peter F. Hamilton https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235123752p2/25375.jpg]'s Commonwealth Saga, I had several people telling me I should really check out this series.As it happens, audible had a big sci-fi book sale, and I was able to pick this one up, so the timing seemed perfect. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to expectations.It's not bad, and I'd consider reading another Reynolds book in the future, just not anytime soon. I found it really confusing at the start. I'm not sure if that's entirely the story's fault (it sort of feels like he means for you to be confused) or the fact that I did it in audio, but I'm not a big fan of stories where the author tries to confuse you.Eventually though I got my bearings, and there was some cool stuff going on that I wanted to find out more about. However, I found all of his characters unlikable. I prefer character-driven stories. Great characters can carry a weak story a lot better than weak characters can carry a great story for me.That isn't to say Mr. Hamilton's characters are weak or undeveloped. I just didn't like them. The worst thing an author can do for me is make me not care what happens to the characters. I didn't exactly hate his characters either. If I did, at least I could have rooted for them to meet some sticky end. No, mostly I found myself indifferent.To me this is a book that had a lot of potential that just failed in execution for me. Other people may like the characters more, or maybe aren't as put off by reading a book where you don't feel like you have someone/thing to cheer for. Maybe I'll try one of his stand alone's next, but for now I need a break not only from Mr. Reynolds, but Sci-Fi in general.